Reports

Strategic Plan

What is a Strategic Plan?

A Strategic Plan communicates guiding vision and sense of direction for the Parish to its members, staff, friends and benefactors. While it is a living document subject to ongoing revision, it sets priorities and guides day-to day decisions for professional staff and lay volunteer parish leaders alike. Culminating in joint work of the Pastoral and Finance Councils, it includes the Parish Mission Statement, Vision Statement, Goals articulating the Visions, and Strategies with timelines to achieve those Goals.

Vision Statement

We, the people of St. Mary’s Parish, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, envision a Christ centered, welcoming community enriched by the gifts of a diverse heritage and continuing to grow in personal and communal holiness through sharing and living the Gospel message.

Mission Statement

We, the people of St. Mary’s Parish, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, in the spirit of faith, service and community, strive to bring people closer together and closer to God, to know our faith, to live by truth and love, to serve the needs of other, to teach by example, and thereby, unify, strengthen and inspire our diverse parish family.

Parish Characteristics

St. Mary’s Our Lady of Perpetual Help was established in 1885 in the small railroad town of Albany, Oregon. Modeled after an abbey church in France, the second church building was dedicated in 1898 and soon followed the establishment of a parish school. This historic church served the community until it was destroyed by an arson fire in 1989. The third and current church was built over the next few years and officially opened in 1992. Due to economic/financial issues which unfortunately affected many parish schools around the nation, St. Mary’s school closed in 2013.

The growing Hispanic community in Albany during the early 1990’s led to the establishment of St. Mary’s Hispanic ministry. St. Mary’s has a diverse membership which is welcoming and inclusive.

St. Mary’s continues to have a special commitment to the needs of the poor and especially the homeless; and has a long history of working with other faith communities to address poverty. This has been manifested in the community meals/soup kitchen program which was established in the early 1980’s and continues today.